Catherine Hartley and Sandy Wilson are the founders of Imagine Racing, a company which has introduced many new owners (and some breeders!) to the sport of horse-racing. SA Horse Racing recently spoke to Catherine and Sandy about a host of topics, including the very exciting International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation Congress, which takes place in at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town from 6-12 January 2017.

How did Imagine Racing get started and what does it entail?

Imagine Racing started as an animated conversation between two passionate Thoroughbred fans, Catherine Hartley and Sandy Wilson, around things that we would like to do and implement in the Racing Industry. Imagine Racing is a multi - faceted business focusing on promoting and demystifying the sport of horse racing via PR, publicity and events, and making it easier for new people to become racehorse owners.

Imagine Racing Syndication specialises in promoting and managing race horse ownership to groups of people on a shared-ownership basis.

How long has IR been in operation?
We started in 2010 having bought our first mare in the August and then a filly to race in the November of that year.

How did the two of you meet and what prompted you to start Imagine Racing?
Sandy was working as book-keeper for Charles Laird at Randjesfontein in Johannesburg and Catherine was marketing manager for Vuma Horse Feeds, for Summerhill Stud.

Frequent visits by Catherine to the Randjes trainers resulted in us getting to know each other over numerous cups of tea, and we also both had riding lessons with Paul Hart on our young Thoroughbreds, which further cemented our friendship via our shared passion for the Thoroughbred.

How many owners/horses is IR currently involved with?
We are currently managing 16 horses in training for 26 owners. Some horses are owned completely by Imagine Racing owners, while others are part owned with other shareholders, but we manage all the horses and all communication from the trainers.

What would you like to see racing improve on?
There are a number of aspects that could be improved on but they are so varied across so many different areas that they can’t all be touched on at once and are not going to be able to be improved in any sort of “quick fix”.

Some of the things that we would personally like to see are: Greater education of race-goers and “new recruits”. It’s all very well to have all the glamorous celebs at a race day but when they don’t know one horse from another when asked to pick their favourite on television, it does not say much to the greater public about why they are at the race meeting. Getting people behind the scenes to get up close to the horses often has an amazing result and when our owners bring their families to meet the horses at the stables – it’s sometimes magical. While we may not focus on punting, racing is driven largely by betting, so we need to give people the knowledge of how to bet, which bets to choose and what to look for in a horse to make it interactive and fun for a new person attending their first race-meeting. Unfortunately this is often not an easily generalised dissemination of information but, in our experience, having “ambassadors/hosts” at the track to physically go to small groups of people, chat to them, explaining how things work and answer questions, really helps to get that information across.

The last but very much not least thing for this discussion is the promoting of Thoroughbreds “Beyond Racing”. Over time the focus in sport horses has become all about the Warmblood, except in polo which is still a big utiliser of horses off the track. In this regard, although owners now have a new NHRA rule to consider before rehoming their race-horse, every owner should have enough respect for their horse/s to be considerate of where they go and remain interested in their life after the track. Imagine Racing formed Beyond Racing, an initiative to promote and publicise Thoroughbreds, highlight their successes as highly suitable sport and leisure horses and to promote their appropriate transition from racing to be well looked after, much loved and valued beyond their racing careers.

What are Imagine Racing’s future goals?
Imagine Racing would like to play a bigger role in the SA Racing industry promoting and driving greater public interest in the sport and implementing and driving the points discussed above.

Who do you have your horses in training with, and are all your horses based in Gauteng?
Most of our horses are in training with Joe Soma and we have had some great successes together. Joe has been a big supporter of Imagine Racing and we love the hands-on approach and focus on the horse that the yard strives for.

What has been your biggest success story to date?
We’ve been quite lucky with most of our horses, having selected mostly runners who have performed on the track to a respectable level. (In cases where they are not showing ability or improvement within 4-5 starts, we advise our owners to retire them to another discipline where they will be better suited. To date 5 of our smaller horses have gone on to, or are learning to play, competitive polo and some of the bigger ones, we have put into good jumping and showing homes where we follow them closely.

Our biggest success stories to date both became broodmares: 1. Stunning Jet, (Jet Master x Matchless Maiden) who we bought in training as a one-time winner and she subsequently had four more wins. Our original owners in the horse stayed on into her breeding career and still part-own the 2-year old Byword filly, recently in training. Sadly Stunning Jet was struck by lightning on the farm carrying her second Byword foal. 2 Final Score (Solksjaer x Tribute): we bought into her with Sean Tarry and Mike de Kock at Ready to Run 2010. She had one win and was stakes placed, among numerous places. We then bought them out with some of our new owners in 2014 and she went on to notch up another win and four places in training with Joe Soma. We decided to breed with her and she has a lovely Soft Falling Rain filly at foot and is in foal to Byword.

Is IR involved with breeding at all or is it strictly racing?
We’ve answered some of that indirectly above but yes, we have bred a few foals but have had some bad luck with the mares, losing our first two within six months of each other. It is not core business but in the event that we race a mare who we feel is worth breeding with, we will, and either race the progeny within our syndicates or sell them, if they are likely to garner sufficient interest at the sales.

What advice would you offer would be owners and similarly, what advice would give you women wanting to get involved in horse-racing?
Firstly, don’t become an owner because you want a return from the horse/s. If you are expecting something back every time the horse runs, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Understand that horses are animals first and athletes second, in any high-conditioning sport set-backs can occur. Have respect and admiration for your horses and treat racing as a lifestyle pursuit/pastime and enjoy the experience and the fact that you have a horse racing. An appreciation for their athleticism, nobility and what they do for us will go a long way to heightening your enjoyment. If and when your horse runs well and banks a cheque – relish it but don’t count on it at every race.

As women, there may be some perceived barriers within the industry but actions speak louder than words, so if you want to be involved in whatever capacity – JUST DO IT (thanks to Nike).

There are many different avenues and aspects to be involved in, in the industry and if you have a passion for the Thoroughbred and racing, pursue it with determination and professionalism. The industry needs professional, passionate and committed people.

Who, if anyone, has inspired you in racing?
There are many people who have inspired, continue to inspire and who are to be admired but my list is long and varied and covers so many different aspects but mostly it’s about determined dreams and following them, so a few mentions that stand out:

The vision of John Magnier, Vincent O’ Brien and Robert Sangster which gave birth to Coolmore, was an amazing journey and it is still being continued by Aidan O’Brien.

Lester Piggott and Frankie Dettori may be generations apart but their riding skill and accuracy position them as professionals to look up to.

Locally, the late Mr Graham Beck with his Highlands Farm and then Gainesway in Kentucky, Mike de Kock for taking the bold step to train horses in Dubai, Mick Goss and Summerhill for persistent professionalism and innovation.

Catherine please tell me a little bit (ie date, venue, length) about the International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation Congress which is happening in January?

The International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation Congress taking place at The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town from 6 – 12 January 2017

Can you mention some of the speakers likely to attend?
International speakers set to cover this conference include Dr Tarryn Dent Zoetis, Dr John Grewar, Dr Brandon Velie, Dr Des Leadon, Professor Warwick Bayly, Dr Iris Bergmann, Dr Fred Barrelet, David Ashby and Juliet Redfern.

What is the cost of this and what kind of topics will be discussed?
The cost to attend the two day open forum, speaker sessions is R2000, including lunch and refreshments. Topics range from breeding and racing in the wider world, to the interface between the thoroughbred world and insurance, to discussions on genomics, as well as talks on various infectious diseases.

How did you get involved with ITBF?
We were asked by the conference organisers, Vetlink, to assist them with racing industry information, the sourcing of sponsorship, and to act as industry liaison.